Flexible starting bar for continuous casting plants



United States Patent [72] inventor Luigi Danieli 3,305,899 2/1967 Saunders 164/412 Buttrio,Udine,ltaly 3,351,125 11/1967 Colombo 164/274 [21] Appl. No. 707,388 3,429,366 2/1969 Cruger et a1. 164/274 [22] Filed Feb. 19,5968 O I PATENTS [45] Patented Dec. 1, l 70 Priority p 1967 46,803 6/1966 Germany 287/86 33 I l Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser 31 N 793419 Assistant ExaminerR. Spencer Annear Attorney- Edwin E. Greigg [54] FLEXIBLE STARTING BAR FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING PLANTS 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 164/274;

287/86 ABSTRACT: A false bar for continuous casting plants, [51] InLCl B22d 11/08 characterized by comprising a Series f hollow elements [50] Fleld Search 164/821 equivalent to one another, coaxially arranged one after the 274. 282, 283,412(Consulted): 287/86; other, with a section equal to that of the bar to be cast, each element being bound to the next element by a pin passing through two corresponding portions of the two ends, allowing [56] References cued slight oscillations between the two elements dampened by a UNITED STATES PATENTS resilient device inside of each element and tending to hold said 2,191,348 2/1940 Lauterbach 287/86UX bar at an upright position.

/ //%V//////////Al Q///////////////// AZ] FLEXIBLE STARTING BAR FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING PLANTS One of the major problems in modern continuous casting plants, wherein the bar is immediately bent under the ingot mould, is the starting bar.

The main problems for the starting bar are the following:

a. a high flexibility along an axis at right angles thereto,

b. it must bear bucklings clue to its own weight at ascending step and due to weight of the bar being cast at descending step;

c. it must bear high transverse loads caused by dragging of the rollers.

Hitherto such problems have been solved in several manners, such as:

starting bars made of rubber: however, these bars show a short life, they will elongate and particularly will not withstand the specific high pressures to which they are subjected when passing through said dragging rollers;

steel chain starting bars; they are not sufficiently rigid to withstand buckling, therefore affording deflections also according to planes different from the bending plane for the bar to be cast, thus causing significant irregularities in the bar pull;

starting bars formed of plaited steel cables; these have the disadvantage of not allowing any pull by means of the dragging rollers.

The present invention is for overcoming the above disadvantages by providing a false billet and a flexible false slab solving all the problems for the starting bar.

To this end the invention comprises a series of hollow metal elements which are interconnected by pins. Within each element is provided a resilient system formed from a series of leaf spring assembled laminations, bound by a bolt or rivet to a portion of the preceding element and freely movable at its opposite end within a groove formed in the adjacent element, thus allowing the starting bar to straighten upon termination of the stresses holding it in a curved condition.

Owing to this resilient system and pins, this false bar has a high resiliency in a plane (corresponding to the bending plane for the roller guide) and no flexibility along a plane perpendicular to the former.

In an alternative form of the invention the same object would be attained if the previously described elements are also formed of hollow elements, but terminating with a tang which is positioned into the bore of the subsequent element when as sembling, the connection between the various elements being always effected by pins.

In this case the resilient system is formed to include a tang which, when associated with the adjacently alined element, will encounter pads of rubber or other resilient material provided in the bore of the latter, the tang acting on said pads so as to impart the required flexibility to the starting bar.

In still another embodiment of the invention, by utilizing hollow elements which also terminate in a tang, the resilient element of rubber is replaced by at least a flexure spring, such as a leaf spring system or any other spring, such as a stack of Belleville spring elements, thus obtaining the same results as those for the system of assembled laminations in a leaf spring type element.

The invention will be better understood, as well as further objects and advantages will become more apparent, from a study of the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross section of the starting bar in a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of the starting bar in a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross section of the starting bar in a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of FIG. 3. Turning now to the sectional view in FIG. I, the body An apertured bifurcated member 2 is secured to the pin 6 with the forked portion thereof extending beyond the arcuate portions 16 and into the cavity provided by the adjacent assembly of plates 15. The opposite free end of the bifurcated member 2 is perforated in a plane normal to the aperture arranged to receive pin 6 and is provided with a suitable bolt or rivet means 5 which secures superimposed resilient laminations 3 between the spaced ears 1.7-I7. It will be noted at this time that the free ends of laminations 3 are slidably disposed in the groove 4 ofthe adjacent bifurcated member 2, thus permitting freedom ofa bending moment about the pin 6.

An alternative form of this invention is shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment there is a hollow perforated body member 7 that includes an elongated tapered leg portion 7' provided with a reduced integral end member 8 which is positioned in a pair of rubber elements 9, the latter being confined within the cavity 10 of body member 7.

In this form of the invention the resiliency of the elements 9 perform the equivalent function of the resilient laminations 3 described earlier with regard to FIG. I. As is also apparent from FIG. 2, a longitudinally arranged series of these devices are unitized by pin 11 extending through adjacent elements.

In still another embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 3, in lieu of having the extremity of leg 7' positioned in a resilient mass 9 there may be provided alternative types of springs. For example, the oppositely disposed surfaces of the end extension 8 of FIG. 3 may be provided either with bent leaf spring elements 12 or Belleville spring elements, such as illustrated at 12'.

lclaim:

I. A flexible starting bar for continuous casting machines comprising a series of longitudinally alined interconnected hollow body members including front and rear portions, said body members having at least a pair of spaced opposed perforated walls pivotally secured together by p'in means, with each of said body members further including interfitting portions adjacent at least one end thereof and including portions extending into and arranged for resilient pivotal movement within an adjacent hollow body member and in a plane normal to said pin means.

2. A flexible starting bar as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pivoted portion arranged for movement within said adjacent hollow body is a flexible member.

3. A flexible starting bar as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible member comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending laminated elements.

4. A flexible starting bar as claimed in claim I, wherein the pivoted portion is a rigid member having its end seated in a pair of resilient members in said adjacent hollow body member.

5. A flexible starting bar as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivoted portions in said adjacent hollow body are associated with leaf spring members.

6. A flexible starting bar as claimed in claim I, wherein the pivoted portions in said adjacent hollow body are associated with Belleville spring members.

P0-1050 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, 543,833 Dated December 1, 1970 Inventor(s) Luigi Danieli It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 1, line 8, after "axie" insert and no flexibil along an axis --7 Col. 1, line 50, "alined" should read aligned Col. 2, line 44, "alined" should read aligned Signed and sealed this 25th day of May 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER, JR. Attesting Officer WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, Commissioner of Pete 

